Unbowed
Wangari Maathai
Book of the month – May 2010
This charismatic and strong Kenyan woman Wangari Maathai talks about her incredibly intense life. In this book W. Maathai shares with the reader memories of her childhood, when only through a coincidental course of events her mother decided to send her to school; her studies at university in Kenya and in the USA, her obtaining a Doctorate degree, founding the renowed Green Belt Movement, struggle in defending women’s rights, a number of futile attempts at helping to bring about a societal change during a dictatorial regime of president Daniel arap Moi, receiving the Nobel Prize, or her work at the ministry of environment. W. Maathai led a movement of activists in a long fight to create new forested areas and/or defend the ones that were already in existence. The government and thugs hired by the government repeatedly used violence against them. Despite this, W. Maathai and other activists just continued in their resilient fight.
While reading this memoir, one never stops wondering how much one person can do when they basically follow one prinicple: if there is some injustice being done, be it to the environment, to women or ordinary citizens, W. Maathai does not hesitate to repeatedly risk her life to change it and to make sure Kenyan citizens as well as the world community is informed. Curiously, W. Maathai says it is not about courage, it is about being upset about injustice and being consistent and persistent in trying to change it..
